New faces for Revs opener

Saturday

Mar 29, 2008 at 12:01 AMMar 29, 2008 at 12:17 AM

FOXBORO - The season opener for the New England Revolution is finally here, but the timing could be better for Steve Nicol's crew. Bad enough that the Revs welcome their MLS Cup nemesis, two-time defending champion Houston, to Gillette Stadium tonight (7:30 p.m.), but the hosts will have to face the Dynamo shorthanded.

The season opener for the New England Revolution is finally here, but the timing could be better for Steve Nicol's crew.

Bad enough that the Revs welcome their MLS Cup nemesis, two-time defending champion Houston, to Gillette Stadium tonight (7:30 p.m.), but the hosts will have to face the Dynamo shorthanded.

The Revs will be thin on the flanks, with left midfielder Khano Smith away on international duty with Bermuda, and right midfielder Wells Thompson out with a troublesome left heel bone spur that will also keep the second-year man out of Thursday's match at Chicago.

Nicol's choices are limited. He can either switch formations to a 4-4-2, pushing captain Steve Ralston back out wide right, allowing Nicol to field only one new starter. Or, he can stick with his 3-5-2, keeping Ralston in attacking mid atop Shalrie Joseph and Jeff Larentowicz, and introduce two new starters into the mix.

It looks like tonight the seven-year coach will choose the latter, with Gambian Sainey Nyassi filling the right and Honduran Mauricio Castro making his Revs debut on the left. Nyassi's under-20 Gambian teammate, Kenny Mansally, could also start up top with Taylor Twellman. Add defender Chris Albright, and that's four new starters to open the season. Quite the change.

"We're happy with the lineup we've got tomorrow, and we'll just go from there," said Nicol after yesterday's training session. "You can never second guess what is going to happen, be it lineups, suspension. All that matters is tomorrow, and then after that we'll move on to the next one."

Houston is still missing U.S. international midfielder Ricardo Clark, serving last year's end-year suspension for kicking Carlos Ruiz. But otherwise the Dynamo will be full strength, with the likes of Brian Ching up top, the amazing Dwayne De Rosario up the middle, and the tough Eddie Robinson in defense. The Dynamo have new faces, too, like former D.C. defender Bobby Boswell now teamed with Robinson in the back, speedster Corey Ashe out wide and new striker Chris Wondolowski.

"These guys got guys flying in from all over the world, and Rico is out, so they've got their own issues," said Albright about Houston. "It's about forgetting about all of that, going out and believing you can win. We believe we can, and they believe the same thing, so it'll be a good game."

Every time these teams battle - and it's always a battle - the focus is on midfield, where Joseph and De Rosario will go head-to-head. Whoever can establish midfield dominance will hold a substantial advantage.

"We have been short against them the last two years in the final, so this is a game we look forward to," said Joseph, who just returned from helping Grenada advance in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying. "It's a revenge game, sure, but at the end of the day they've still got the rings. It's going to be one tough game to open the season, and we're looking forward to getting started."

If Nicol chooses to play both Gambians, the Revs instantly up their speed quotient bigtime. Another key factor will be Castro, whom Nicol says is fit and ready after just a week training with the team.

"The transition, it' kind of been seamless," said Nicol of Castro. "It shows the type of character he is. He looks like a real good pro. He just gets on with his job, and that's what we realize we've got here."

The Revs also realize what they're up against, the best team in the league.

"I think we know what we're going to face, what we're going to have to overcome, but we know we have to do our thing," said Nicol. "If we do our thing, then it'll be difficult for them.

"They're a strong team. It's going to be a fight, that's what we mean to get from them."

***

Veteran Joe Franchino is also out, with a hamstring, meaning Nicol's bench will be quite short on experience tonight. ...

The Revs did add to their roster yesterday by signing defender Chase Hilgenbrinck to their senior roster, leaving the club with one slot left to fill. The 25-year-old Illinois native came out of Clemson, wasn't drafted in 2004, and then went and played four seasons in Chile. He originally tried out with Colorado, but was surprisingly cut a couple weeks ago. He will provide depth at left back.

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